Security guarantees are vital for rebuilding Ukraine’s economy – Metinvest CEO

Security guarantees will be key to rebuilding Ukraine’s shattered economy. This opinion was expressed by Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest Group, in a conversation with The Guardian.

According to him, with the right policy, the company’s economy can develop like the economic miracle of Germany after World War II. However, Mr. Ryzhenkov notes that there is a high degree of uncertainty about the plans of US President-elect Donald Trump.

“What’s more important to me is the security guarantees that we will receive at the end of the war, or a ceasefire,” he said.

Metinvest’s CEO says investors are interested in Ukraine’s significant assets that could help its economy recover and attract investment, including lithium and uranium deposits and a history of industrial production.

Metinvest has already suffered significant losses during the war – Azovstal and Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol were destroyed, and the company also lost its coke plant in Avdiivka.

Yuriy Ryzhenkov reminded that despite the war and global steel oversupply, the company is still generating cash and remains the largest corporate taxpayer in Ukraine and one of the largest employers. The group is also one of the largest donors to the army among private companies.

According to Metinvest’s CEO, logistics is still the main challenge for the group’s Ukrainian businesses. Active seaports in the south of Ukraine and railroad connections allow it to export.

However, the company faces a significant risk of further losses amid Russian troops’ advances towards the Pokrovsk mine, which produces coking coal for the group’s steel mills, as well as for ArcelorMittal in Kryvyi Rih.

As for the global market, Ryzhenkov said that Metinvest cannot be immune to what is happening now. He added that the industry is likely to be at the lowest point of the cycle before demand and prices gradually recover.

As GMK Center reported earlier, including associates and joint ventures, Metinvest increased its tax payments to the Ukrainian budget by 38% to over UAH 15 billion in 9M2024. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Group has allocated UAH 8 billion to help Ukraine and its citizens, including UAH 4.4 billion for the needs of the army as part of the Steel Front military initiative.