How is the economy in Kiev?

Hello Friendly Canadian, Welcome to Expat-blog

Hope that members soon give you updates on the economic situation in Kiev.

Regards,
Sheetul

Hi! Actually foreigners might find it difficult to do business in Ukraine, because of the language differences and sometimes administrative barriers, but it can profitable and Ukraine in general (especially Kyiv as a capital) is a growing market. Salaries are lower compared to European ones and people speak poor English or no English at all, mostly Russian. However, huge amount of multinational corporations already have their offices in Kiev.
As I can see, production is not very developed in Kiev - mostly services. If you are going to offer something competitive to the market, people will first assess its price and then quality.
Still, there is a big number of people with luxurious cars and apartments, so some luxurious stuff like designer clothing or jewellery would be popular here, too.
That's why I believe you have to calculate expected profits first and then make some decision on the investment. Authorities encourage foreign businesses to come here, but I am not sure, if any special preferences are provided in this case.

Hi Yuri,
Thank you for your explanation of the situation in Kiev. You sound very knowledgeable, I appreciate your insights. The reason I wanted to know about Ukraine is because our company is opening there in November and I am looking for well connected people to do business building there. Do I understand correctly that you are a translator? What kind of work do you do? Are you open to new ideas?
Jo-Anne

Hi Jo Anne,

It's very nice to hear your feedback to my post I do project management in Kiev - we translate software manuals for mobile phones, cameras etc. from English into Russian and Ukrainian, so my English is very good. I don't translate texts, but I do the translation review like an editor and I could also make translations myself, if necessary.
However, I'm not just a linguist, my major is International Economics and I'm very interested in Marketing. At present I'm a Project Manager, since I am paid for it, but I'm always interested in new people and ideas. So, I could definitely help you with any translations needed, be it a need for spoken or written translation and I also have ideas concening your business.
Actually, my hometown is different from Kiev, so my business contacts are limited. Still, I've met some interesting people during the 3 years of my life here. Depending on your needs, I could ask my friend, an experienced accountant, for advice on how to set up a company, for example, OOO (Ukrainian equivalent for Plc). If you want to know more about local suppliers, I could also try to help you with that - I surely know at least company names, if not specific persons, but hopefully it might be helpful for you, too.
So, if you write to my personal inbox explaining how we could get in touch (icq or phone number, etc.), I'll be very glad to communicate with you, as I visit this site not very often.

Best regards,
Yuri

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Jo-Anne Schultz