One of the richest Ukrainians has plans for the shipyard in Trogir.
One of the richest Ukrainians and the owner of the biggest shipyards in Ukraine, Vadim Novinski, recently visited Croatia, where he discussed the future cooperation between the Croatian and Ukrainian shipyards, reports Jutarnji List on January 15, 2017.
Novinski was received by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and it was agreed that Novinski will visit Split in February in order to arrange cooperation with Brodotrogir, a shipyard from nearby Trogir. During the meeting, Plenković stressed that the government supported the cooperation between the shipyards in order for them to be competitive in the world markets.
Given that Novinski and his business partner Andrei Klyamko are owners of many of Ukrainian metallurgical companies as well, as part of their Smart Holding Group, business cooperation with Croatian shipyards is even more intriguing. Novinski and Klyamko used to be interested in buying the steelworks in Sisak, and they still might be interested for the company.
Plenković reiterated the desire of Croatia to cooperate with Ukrainian entrepreneurs, while Novinski, who was visiting Croatia for the first time, was pleased with the opportunities to invest here. The meeting was organized by Ivica Pirić, a businessman and president of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce in Croatia, who has been operating in Ukraine for a long time and claims that, in addition to the shipbuilding industry, there is a possibility for co-operation in the construction sector as well. “Ukrainians are very interested in contracts connected with road and bridge construction, and Croatian companies have great experience in this segment”, said Pirić, who pointed out that, after a business forum which was held in Kiev a few months ago, they were working on linking Croatian and Ukrainian businesspeople.
Interestingly, Novinski lives in Kiev, but he has a registered place of residence in Russia as well. According to Forbes, his wealth is estimated at almost two billion dollars, and he is known to the public as an oligarch who made his fortune during the privatization process in Ukraine. He was born in Russia, and five years ago he received the Ukrainian citizenship. He was twice elected to the Ukrainian parliament, holds interests in oil and gas companies as well, and is continuously expanding his business empire.
