"We do not think that our operation in the Ukrainian market is carrying any special risks. We find the level of risks involved in doing business in Ukraine quite acceptable," Kostin told a press conference in Kiev.
On Saturday, in attendance of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Viktor Yushchenko, VTB opens its subsidiary Vneshtorgbank (Ukraine) in the Ukrainian capital city.
According to Kostin, "the Russian and Ukrainian markets are very much alike, which makes VTB well aware of the risks involved in doing business there."
The VTB CEO added that "the Ukrainian economy has been demonstrating impressive growth rates over the past few years."
Andrei Kostin pointed out that Vneshtorgbank (Ukraine) does not see its main objective in servicing Russian businessmen operating on the Ukrainian market. "We also intend to work directly with Ukrainian clients, including promotion of Ukrainian business interests abroad," Kostin said.
He pointed out that the bank already had a preliminary list of Ukrainian companies that VTB (Ukraine) would be cooperating with. He declined to elaborate on the issue, however. Andrei Kostin said Vneshtorgbank (Ukraine) was going to hold a joint press conference in May together with its new clients.
The VTB Ukrainian subsidiary's charter capital is $15 million. By the end of 2005, the bank plans to expand its capitalization to $50 million.
Vneshtorgbank (Ukraine) is going to start a large-scale development of its network of branch offices in 2006. The bank sees the Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kharkov, Lvov, Nikolayev and Odessa regions as well as the city of Sevastopol (Crimea) as the primary areas for VTB business expansion.
