Ukraine is seeking new ways to finance its rebuilding plans as vital aid from the West slows down. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly has plans to meet JP Morgan's CEO at the World Economic Forum.
ADVERTISEMENTUkraine's President Zelenskyy is reportedly planning to meet JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon at the World Economic Forum in Davos to seek new ways of financing its rebuilding plans.
JP Morgan, the biggest US bank with almost half a trillion dollars of market capitalisation, has already been advising Ukraine on financing reconstruction.
When contacted by Euronews Business, JPMorgan declined to comment.
Ukraine is in constant need of financing
The war between Russia and Ukraine enters its third year on 24 February 2024, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, the scale of the humanitarian crisis and the war's impact on oil and food security across the globe is still taking its toll.
The end of the conflict is nowhere near in sight, Russian sources claimed that Putin's forces are preparing to launch a new offensive in the coming weeks, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Western allies have sent more than €230 billion in total aid to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
While the European Commission is battling the Hungarian Prime Minister's demands to secure a €50 billion support package for Ukraine, Washington's support for Kyiv is also uncertain, with Republican politicians trying to block new tranches of support.
Some European countries individually step up, Lithuania has announced a €200 million aid package for Ukraine last week and a few days later the UK announced that the UK would increase its aid to €2.9 billion in the next financial year.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) has appealed for $4.2 billion (€3.83 billion) to help people in Ukraine, and those displaced outside the country this year, saying that people on the front lines have "exhausted their meagre resources", reported AP.
The World Bank's private investment arm has mobilised nearly $1 billion to rebuild Ukraine's private sector, Reuters reported last week.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) last December decided to increase its paid-in capital by €4 billion, a big part of which will be used to invest in Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction. The EBRD has already deployed more than €3 billion in Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion.
The cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine surpasses all the aid given so far. After just one year in the conflict, the necessary amount was estimated to be $411 billion (€383 billion), according to the World Bank. It may have doubled since.
What JPMorgan could do for Ukraine?
New York-based JPMorgan has been a long-standing partner and advisor to Kyiv, and has helped Ukraine raise more than $25 billion (€22.8 billion) in sovereign debt since 2010 and led the country's debt restructuring last year, according to the Financial Times.
CEO Dimon has been a long-time advocate of stopping this particular global threat, saying that the US has a responsibility to "have it right".
The US banking giant has also taken part in plans to attract private capital for various reconstruction projects in the war-torn country.
BlackRock and JPMorgan (donating their services) started cooperation with Kyiv in June 2023 to set up a Development Finance Institution to attract public and private investors with projects in infrastructure, climate and agriculture.
According to Bloomberg, Ukraine's president is also planning to see Swiss President Viola Amherd. Switzerland has committed to sending a total aid of €2.31 billion over the past two years, according to the Kiel Institute.
