Latest news with #UkraineRecovery
Russia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Russia Today
BlackRock drops Ukraine fund
US investment holding BlackRock stopped its search for investors to back a multi-billion dollar fund for rebuilding Ukraine earlier this year, Bloomberg has reported. Interest reportedly dropped after President Donald Trump retook the White House. The fund was set to be unveiled at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome next week. It had been close to securing backing from firms supported by the governments of Germany, Italy, and Poland, the outlet wrote on Saturday, citing anonymous sources. Nevertheless, BlackRock reportedly decided to shelve the talks early this year 'due to a lack of interest amid increased uncertainty over Ukraine's future,' after the US changed its stance towards Kiev under the current administration. Trump has long promised to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has sought avenues to reach a peace deal. He has also pushed European NATO allies to take over the burden of militarily supporting Ukraine. Earlier this week, Washington reportedly froze critical arms deliveries to Kiev to focus on replenishing its own stockpiles, although the US president has insisted some military aid still continues. The Trump administration 'was a notable absence from the fund's backers in December,' Bloomberg added. In March of last year, BlackRock vice chairman Philipp Hildebrand indicated that the Ukraine Development Fund was on track to secure at least $2.5 billion from private investors, countries and other grant lenders. A consortium of such investors could finance at least $15 billion towards reconstruction work in Ukraine, he said. However, a BlackRock spokesperson indicated that the firm is no longer engaged in 'any active mandate' with Kiev, having finished its pro-bono consulting work with the Ukraine Development Fund last year, Bloomberg wrote. The investment firm, which controls roughly $11.6 trillion in assets, owns substantial shares in military-industrial giants such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman, among many others. Armaments produced by these firms, which are supplied to Kiev by its Western backers, have seen extensive use in the conflict. Moscow has repeatedly condemned foreign arms supplies to Kiev, arguing that they make pro-Ukrainian Western nations party to the conflict, which Russia views as a NATO proxy war. The Kremlin has stated that the recent freeze in US military aid to Kiev will accelerate settlement of the conflict.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
BlackRock halted Ukraine fund talks after Trump's election win: Report
BlackRock Inc. halted its search for investors to back a multibillion-dollar Ukraine recovery fund earlier this year after Donald Trump's election victory saw the US sour on the eastern European country, people familiar with the discussions said. The fund, meant to be unveiled at next week's Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, was close to securing initial support from entities backed by the governments of Germany, Italy and Poland, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private information. However, in January, BlackRock decided to pause talks with institutional investors due to a lack of interest amid increased uncertainty over Ukraine's future. Donald Trump ran his reelection campaign on a promise to immediately end the war in Ukraine and bring the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin together for peace talks. Since his inauguration at the start of the year, the US president has clashed with both men and issued inconsistent proposals for a path forward, while indicating an end to US military support for Ukraine. The US government was a notable absence from the fund's backers in December. Reconstruction funding The Ukraine Development Fund was on track to secure at least $500 million from countries, development banks and other grant providers, along with $2 billion from private investors, Philipp Hildebrand, vice chairman of BlackRock who was among the financiers leading the discussions, said last year. At the time, Hildebrand said that could bring together a consortium of equity and debt investors who could finance at least $15 billion of reconstruction work in Ukraine. The total bill to rebuild Ukraine following Russia's invasion was estimated at more than $500 billion by the World Bank and others in February. A BlackRock spokesperson said the firm completed its pro-bono advisory work on the Ukraine Development Fund in 2024 and is currently not engaged in 'any active mandate' with the Ukrainian government. 'The only conversations that drive our decision-making are those with our clients,' the spokesperson added. BlackRock was set to unveil the fund in Italy, some of the people said, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference on July 10-11 that Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Ukraine's Zelenskyy are set to attend, though the timeline was never made public. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Meloni and the foreign ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. France has been working on a fund proposal to replace the canceled BlackRock initiative but it's not clear how effective the new plan will be without US backing, the people said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock Halted Ukraine Fund Talks After Trump's Election Win
(Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc. halted its search for investors to back a multibillion-dollar Ukraine recovery fund earlier this year after Donald Trump's election victory saw the US sour on the eastern European country, people familiar with the discussions said. Foreign Buyers Swoop on Cape Town Homes, Pricing Out Locals Massachusetts to Follow NYC in Making Landlords Pay Broker Fees NYC Commutes Resume After Midtown Bus Terminal Crash Chaos Struggling Downtowns Are Looking to Lure New Crowds What Gothenburg Got Out of Congestion Pricing The fund, meant to be unveiled at next week's Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, was close to securing initial support from entities backed by the governments of Germany, Italy and Poland, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private information. However, in January, BlackRock decided to pause talks with institutional investors due to a lack of interest amid increased uncertainty over Ukraine's future. Donald Trump ran his reelection campaign on a promise to immediately end the war in Ukraine and bring the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin together for peace talks. Since his inauguration at the start of the year, the US president has clashed with both men and issued inconsistent proposals for a path forward, while indicating an end to US military support for Ukraine. The US government was a notable absence from the fund's backers in December. Reconstruction Funding The Ukraine Development Fund was on track to secure at least $500 million from countries, development banks and other grant providers, along with $2 billion from private investors, Philipp Hildebrand, vice chairman of BlackRock who was among the financiers leading the discussions, said last year. At the time, Hildebrand said that could bring together a consortium of equity and debt investors who could finance at least $15 billion of reconstruction work in Ukraine. The total bill to rebuild Ukraine following Russia's invasion was estimated at more than $500 billion by the World Bank and others in February. A BlackRock spokesperson said the firm completed its pro-bono advisory work on the Ukraine Development Fund in 2024 and is currently not engaged in 'any active mandate' with the Ukrainian government. 'The only conversations that drive our decision-making are those with our clients,' the spokesperson added. BlackRock was set to unveil the fund in Italy, some of the people said, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference on July 10-11 that Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Ukraine's Zelenskiy are set to attend, though the timeline was never made public. Spokespeople for Prime Minister Meloni and the foreign ministry didn't respond to a request for comment. France has been working on a fund proposal to replace the canceled BlackRock initiative but it's not clear how effective the new plan will be without US backing, the people said. --With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska, Harry Wilson, Joe Deaux, Silla Brush and Katherine Griffiths. SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried For Brazil's Criminals, Coffee Beans Are the Target Sperm Freezing Is a New Hot Market for Startups Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
BlackRock Halted Ukraine Fund Talks After Trump's Election Win
BlackRock Inc. halted its search for investors to back a multibillion-dollar Ukraine recovery fund earlier this year after Donald Trump's election victory saw the US sour on the eastern European country, people familiar with the discussions said. The fund, meant to be unveiled at next week's Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, was close to securing initial support from entities backed by the governments of Germany, Italy and Poland, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private information.
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
A fierce wave of Russian attacks threatens to rattle Ukraine's recovery conference in Rome
Ukraine needs a lot of weapons and budget financing to repel the Russian invaders and survive as a functioning country. It also needs jobs, a tax base and foreign investment. If its economy shatters, so does its ability to defend itself, let alone rebuild. Ukraine has high hopes that the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome next Thursday and Friday will speed up the rebuilding efforts. It may leave disappointed. In recent weeks, Russia has pounded the country with devastating aerial attacks. The barrage overnight on Thursday was the biggest since the war began, according to the Ukraine air force, with 550 drones and missiles raining down on Kyiv and elsewhere. The British government's foreign office this week estimated that the attacks have killed 1,000 Ukrainian civilians since January. Against the backdrop of destruction and death, Ukraine's efforts to sell itself as a promising investment destination will not be easy. Still the country will persist − it has no other choice. In spite of the war, Ukraine is attracting some foreign investment. The government can boast that Ukraine's economy is not only intact, it's growing, thanks in good part to about US$100-billion a year in assistance, including weapons, it receives from Western countries, according to the Kiel Institute's Ukraine support tracker. It has also been cracking down on corrupt oligarchs and launching business-friendly reforms. Trump says U.S. has given Ukraine too many weapons after pausing some shipments In a report published this week, the International Monetary Fund forecast Ukraine' s GDP growth at 2 per cent to 3 per cent this year, about the same as last year's, rising to 4.5 per cent next year and close to 5 per cent in 2027. If the war ends soon, the growth figures would be fattened up. Companies putting money into Ukraine are gambling that a peace agreement would make their investment returns soar. The Rome conference is the fourth of its kind – last year's was in Berlin − since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022. Government and business leaders from Ukraine, the U.S., Italy and other European countries are expected. The high-level participation shows that this edition is particularly ambitious. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky may show up (his presence was not confirmed on Friday). His Finance Minister, Sergii Marchenko, and his Economy Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, will be there. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected. In addition, the top executives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. and several big defence contractors, including Fincantieri, Europe's largest shipbuilder, and Italy's Leonardo, are listed as participants. Canada is sending a delegation that will probably include Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. What it's like to be inside a Kyiv bomb shelter as Russia's air assault escalates The Ukrainian industries that would appeal most to Western investors include agriculture, energy and defence. Ukraine, essentially one big farm, is a major exporter of grains. If the country is granted membership in the European Union – it's on the waiting list – it will have free access to one of the world's biggest food markets, with 450 million consumers. Canada's Prem Watsa, head of Fairfax Financial Holdings, has invested in one of Ukraine's biggest agribusinesses, Astarta, on a bet that war's end could make the company a pan-European player. So far, so good. Astarta's Warsaw-listed shares have doubled in the past year. In energy, Ukraine's DTEK, the country's biggest privately owned electricity producer – its coal plants are prime targets for Russian missiles – is building enormous wind farms. It is expanding its renewables portfolio into eastern Europe. Never mind the war – DTEK wants partners to help it expand. With the fighting in its fourth year, and no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to seek peace, it is Ukraine's defence industry that offers the most potential for foreign investment. Ukraine, by necessity, became a world leader fast in aerial robot warfare done on the cheap, putting it years ahead of Western countries. France has figured that drones present an enormous opportunity. Last month, the French government asked Renault, the car company that is 15 per cent owned by the state, to manufacture drones in Ukraine in partnership with local engineers. Renault's mass-manufacturing expertise would help Ukraine pump out drones in great quantities while providing the French company with drone expertise that it could repatriate when the war ends. Ukraine only makes about a third of the weapons it needs. Western companies could help it ramp up production in armoured personnel carriers, anti-tank rockets, artillery shells and radar jamming systems. They would know that anything they produce would get bought by the Ukraine military in a second. Will Western companies rush to build factories and make other investments when the Russian attacks are becoming more intense? Would they risk spending the money even if security guarantees were offered by the EBRD or other international financial institutions? Both sides are said to be exhausted from the war of attrition, but Russia seems not exhausted enough. Ukraine's destruction continues. Its air defences are close to being tapped out. Worse, the U.S. this week abruptly halted the delivery of some crucial weapons, including Patriot interceptor missile systems, citing fear of draining its own stockpiles. Poor Ukraine. Just when Ukraine needs rebuilding help the most, Mr. Putin ramps up the attacks to boost the risk factor. The headlines of endless missile and drone barrages will be hard to ignore in Rome.
