The "Viva la Revolucion" Forum: Bringing International Investors and Ukrainian Political Leaders Together

The forum will bring together members of the international investment community, Ukrainian businesspeople and politicians, namely those who will shape economic policy of Ukraine in the nearest future. ING Capital Markets, Credit Anstalt IB, East Capital Management, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch, Hansberger Group and other leaders of the world investment and financial markets have already confirmed their participation in the forum.

According to preliminary agreements made by the forum's organizers, the attendance of Petro Poroshenko, the head of Parliamentary Budget Committee, Viktor Kapustin, Deputy Head of Parliamentary Finance & Banking Committee, Arseny Yatsenuk, Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine and other top ranking government officials is highly expected.

Ukraine's industrial heavyweights, including 'UkrNafta', "Centrеnergo', "AvtoKRAZ', "Dniproazot', "South Industrial-Investment Group', "Stirol' as well as "Privatbank' have already registered to speak and participate in the forum.

The priorities of Ukraine's economic policy for the year 2005 and their implications for equity and financial markets of the country will be among the key topics of the "revolutionary' forum. The event's agenda will also include discussion on the investment strategies and tools to finance investment programs by Ukrainian businesses. The forum will provide the possibility for representatives of the companies attending to share their opinions and experiences of managing investments in Ukraine and for investors to give guidance to the companies & business groups as to how best raise capital in world markets.

While the volume of foreign investment increased in 2004, protracted problems, such as high levels of corruption, over regulated economic policy and non-transparent procedures of governmental decision-making, prevented the growth of foreign capital inflows into Ukraine.

The success of the Orange revolution, followed by democratization processes and a subsequent tendency towards increased transparency of governmental decision-making as well as the growing significance of the principle of the "rule of law', attracted the attention of the world community to Ukraine and has inspired potential investors. At the same time, the dramatic character of the changes and the lack of adequate information about country's future regulatory policy, caused during the period of the transition of authority, has hindered the activities of investors who are ready to initiate and implement specific projects.

The forum's organizer – "Concorde Capital', a Ukrainian investment Bank, aims to establish and promote direct contacts among all participants of the investment process. Such an open dialogue will foster the creation of an atmosphere of trust and confidence, essential for mutual fruitful cooperation.

According to recently released statistics, during 2004, Ukraine's PFTS (First Securities Trading System) has grown 330% and achieved a historical record of 260.1, thus making the Ukrainian stock market the world's best performer. According to PFTS data, Concorde Capital was the top-rated stock trader in December 2004.