German manufacturer opens factory in western Ukraine
2 October 2017
A German
manufacturer of electric wires for automobiles, Leoni, held a ceremony on Sept.
29 for the opening of a factory in the western Ukrainian city of Kolomyia. The
first phase of the investment costs EUR 16 mln and employs 800 workers, 80% of
which are machinery operators, which will grow to 5,000 in 2021, said President
Petro Poroshenko, who attended the ceremony. The factory offers an average wage
of EUR 255 per month, which is higher than the regionally average, the
president said in his remarks.
Western Ukraine has
not suffered from a loss in foreign investment unlike Ukraine’s other regions
since the start of the war in Donbas in March 2014, the Financial Times
reported on Sept. 27. In that time period, foreign investors created more than
7,000 jobs in the Lviv region (the center of western Ukraine), more than any
other region of Ukraine.
Ukraine is benefitting from its support of the EuroMaidan protest 2013-14 and the
subsequent signing of the EU Association Agreement, which has led to greater
integration with the European Union on many levels, particularly economically.
The region least feels the effect of the warfare in Donbas. We expect the
western regions to give Poroshenko much support in his 2019 presidential
re-election bid, as well as support for his political party.
