Some 43% of German companies in Ukraine plan to increase their investment in the next 12 months, according to a survey by KPMG Deutschland and AHK Ukraine - German-Ukrainian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
The survey of 142 companies showed 49% planned to leave their investments unchanged over the next 12 months while only 8% plan to lower their investments despite the ongoing war.
"Many German investors are seeking to enhance their presence and leverage the strategic benefits offered by Ukraine, such as its close proximity to the German market and access to a sizable and highly skilled labor force," AHK Ukraine and KPMG said in their foreword to the survey.
"Nevertheless, investors continue to face tremendous challenges. There are still considerable risks due to the ongoing war and the associated threat to the safety of employees in Ukraine. Additionally, German investors encounter challenges from corruption and labor shortages."
The survey also showed that 53% of the companies surveyed see the war as a major obstacle to operating in Ukraine while 38% said the safety and security of their employees was also a major obstacle and 31% cited corruption.
Also, despite the inflow of tens of billions of dollars and euros in aid to Ukraine from the European Union, the US, the UK, Japan and elsewhere, only 10% of Germany companies operating in Ukraine have already tapped some of that funding.
Another 35% said such funds are "not an option for my company," 26% said they planned to tap those funds in the future and 20% said they had not heard of the funding options.
As for employee numbers, 59% of the companies surveyed have a headcount of less than 100 but 42% of the total surveyed plan to increase that number over the next 12 months. Some 50% expect their headcount to remain unchanged and 8% expect a decrease.
