Polish manager appointed head of Ukraine railway monopoly

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers appointed on April 20 Wojciech Balczun as the new head of Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia, RAILUA), Ukraine’s state-owned railway monopoly. He was chosen by Ukrainian Economy Ministry selection committee out of 31 applicants. Balczun, a Polish citizen, has 15 years of experience in Polish infrastructure and transportation companies. Most notably, he served as board chairman of the PKP railway monopoly and LOT airlines and earned his reputation as having reformed the Polish logistics company, PKP Cargo (PKP PW).

As his main goals, Balczun said he will implement a new corporate governance system to reduce the possibilities for corruption and save more money, he told the Cabinet meeting. He also expects that his appointment will benefit political relations with the Polish government and business negotiations with Polish railway operators.

Alexander Paraschiy: This is encouraging news for Ukrainian Railways as the new CEO with proven results will likely improve the holding’s transparency and efficiency. Moreover, Balczun may apply his experience of business expansion to the EU logistics market, which could broaden the scope of the services and geography of the Ukrainian railway monopoly. All in all, we remain positive on the short-term prospects of RAILUA bonds and see some room to revise our skeptical view on Ukrzaliznytsia’s mid-term sustainability.