Current and mythic secrets of Ukrainian business from Robert Bassili,the Australian businessman, co-founder of Royal Golf Club and Green Bee Asset Management LLC directors board member

Some experts call a Ukrainian business a goner, others say it will rise in several years if the crisis does not intensify. Hopefully we expect that free trade with the European Union will broaden business capability and enhance the attractiveness for investors. Anyway favourable conditions for entrepreneurship  in Ukraine correlate to the legal system. The more thorough laws are enacted, the easier and more effective is dealing.

To explore problems and future aspects of Ukrainian business climate and investments we applied to Australian businessman,  Robert Bassili  – Co founder of Green Bee Asset Management LLC  which is a Leading Ukraine Management Company , developing Royal Golf Club and other projects.

LDaily: Are there any secrets of being a successful businessman in Ukraine? After all, today many people take a dim view of entrepreneurship in Ukraine.

R. Bassili: Building a business in Ukraine has many challenges, but essentially there is no secrets, but you need to be able to adapt to market, legal and tax changes and ensure your business model can be effective , it also requires a lot of patience and effort,

LDaily: Is Ukrainian business area as favorable as Australian one?

R. Bassili: The Ukrainian business environment is totally unstable, but that is rewarded by potential high margin profit to offset the risk.

LDaily: Have you faced any legal obstacles while creating your own business? Are there any laws or rules that block  entepreneurial activity?

R. Bassili: Yes, we have a biotechnology project of exporting pharmaceutical ingredients to Poland, we found the laws were very grey, and we have decided to put the project on hold.

LDaily: Do you trust Ukrainian lawyers? Are they qualified enough to protect your business?

R. Bassili: Considering the current climate in Ukraine, where corruption is so high, especially in the legal system, we have taken an option to have internal lawyers, which gives us the ability to take ownership and resposibiity for any legal issues.

LDaily: Do investors need some legal analysis for entering the Ukrainian market? How important is it?

R. Bassili: It is important that investors require legal advice for entering the Ukrainian market, but it becomes clear that the most important issue is how to deal or not deal with legal enforcement of particular laws.

LDaily: What are the main differences between Ukrainian and Australian lawyers?

R. Bassili: Firstly, it is more common in Australia to outsource your legal requirements unlike Ukraine, where it’s more common to have an internal. Australian lawyer can give you a much more logical outcome on the result of your legal requirements than in Ukraine, as in Ukraine both legislation and enforcement are very poor and unknown.

LDaily: What are your predictions for the future investments in Ukraine?

R. Bassili: At the moment there is no interest from institutional investors in Ukraine, but there is an interest from investors in Ukraine ($1mUSD  – $5m USD) typically from China, Guf Region and Asia.

We should start seeing a more positive feeling in Ukraine, from about 4 –  5 years,  when investors are more satisfied with stability and understanding the rules.