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Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he held a video conference with BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink on the asset manager’s months-long effort to help the war-torn country rebuild by advising on an investor-backed reconstruction fund.
BlackRock
BLK,
+0.36%
has been working on a raising the fund since September and plans to send company officials to meet formally with Ukraine in 2023.
“Zelensky and Larry Fink agreed to focus in the near term on coordinating the efforts of all potential investors and participants in the reconstruction of our country, channeling investment into the most relevant and impactful sectors of the Ukrainian economy,” according to a statement on the president’s website.
Fink and Zelensky discussed coordination of efforts to rebuild Ukraine, which was invaded on Feb. 24 by Russia.
A BlackRock spokesman declined to comment.
In September, the World Bank, the European Commission and Ukraine estimated the cost of the war at $349 billion.
Ukraine has already turned to the IMF for assistance, as well as capital from private investors.
In September, U.S. private equity firm Horizon Capital announced the launch of the Horizon Capital Growth Fund IV, L.P., to raise capital for technology and export-focused companies in Ukraine and Moldova.
The Growth Fund raised $125 million as of its first close, according to Horizon Capital.
The statement from Zelensky comes just a few days after the Ukrainian leader visited Washington and made an appeal for more military support in a speech at the U.S. Capitol.
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