for the largest share in the leasing contracts' portfolio due to the high cost of such assets.
Trucks are the second and passenger cars rank third. Imported equipment accounts for
most of the leasing transactions [9]. Many banks consider financial leasing as a form
of a loan and leasing companies as direct competitors to banks. Where a foreign
manufacturer produces equipment, the lessor is traditionally responsible for importing
the equipment into Ukraine and conducting the necessary customs clearance.
Around 50 leasing companies are operating in Ukraine. Although approximately
70% of such transactions are conducted by 10 leading companies. There is a great
potential for a regional expansion of leasing in the country. Currently, there are only
six leasing companies that cover local regions in the country through agency networks.
In most Ukrainian localities leasing is underdeveloped.
Over 30% of the leasing companies in Ukraine are wholly owned by foreign legal
entities and 10% of companies have foreign participation. All the rest are resident
companies. The survey showed that 39% of leasing companies are bank-related; this
offers them the opportunity to use the credit resources of the bank. But this situation is
changing rapidly considering the number of banks that recently launched leasing
operations or have indicated to be interested in launching leasing operations. Only 19%
of the surveyed companies are affiliated with a vendor or producer. These companies
are mainly active in the automotive industry. 26% of the leasing companies indicated
that they are concluding sale and lease back transactions. With respect to cross border
leasing only 3% indicated that they are involved in such transactions.
So,
Ukraine will most likely increase imports of capital equipment and
technologies in the near future. Foreign capital will then have to become a major source
of financing for Ukrainian investments. Leasing has great potential for becoming the
preferred tool of foreign investors and its share in the investment volume will most
likely show steady growth in the coming years [9].
One of the effective ways to overcome the lack of funds for the development of
innovation activity is venture (or risk) investment, which is realized through venture
funds (VF). In developed countries investors-shareholders WF can be corporations,
pension funds, insurance companies, private individuals, banks. The main difference
between venture funds and other institutional investors lies in the fact that the former
provide funds through the acquisition of shares of enterprises that became the object of
investment. Most funds are created for a period of 7-10 years, after VF sells all acquired
corporate securities and is liquidated and therefore venture funds are interested in high
quotations of shares of the recipient enterprise [10].
Ukraine has an emerging venture capital scene, which indicates the presence of
entrepreneurial opportunities in the country. While this form of financing caters for the
financial needs of only a small fraction of innovative SMEs, it is an important
ingredient of the innovation system. However, the development of the venture capital
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