Semeniuk named three conditions for the full-fledged development of the capital market in Ukraine

The Ukrainian capital market exists, but its potential today is far from being fully realized. To change the situation, it is necessary to simultaneously work on competitive conditions for financial instruments, the gradual removal of restrictions on capital flows, and the emergence of “long-term money” in the economy.

Oleksii Semeniuk, Chairman of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), spoke about this in an interview with Business Censor.

Today, about 85% of the Ukrainian securities market consists of domestic government bonds. According to the Chairman of the NSSMC, this structure is largely explained by the regulatory and tax advantages of government bonds compared with other instruments.

“On a classic market, there is a choice of instruments and competition between them: stocks, bonds, investment certificates, and other instruments. In Ukraine, however, the securities market consists of approximately 85% domestic government bonds,” Oleksii Semeniuk noted.

He singled out three key areas without which the full-fledged development of the market is impossible.

The first is creating more equal competitive conditions between domestic government bonds and other financial instruments.

The second is the gradual easing of currency restrictions and the formation of clear conditions for capital flows when the macroeconomic situation allows it.

The third is the formation of “long-term money” in Ukraine through individual investment accounts, voluntary pension savings, and other long-term instruments.

A separate area of the NSSMC’s work is expanding the range of instruments available to investors. In particular, the Verkhovna Rada has already supported in the first reading Draft Law No. 15172 on securitization and covered bonds.

At the same time, the NSSMC is working on individual investment accounts, reforming voluntary pension savings, developing collective investment institutions, regulating virtual assets, and deregulation.

“These are not separate initiatives — they are one package, each element of which closes a specific gap: some provisions create instruments, others remove obstacles, and others bring the supply of capital,” the NSSMC Chairman explained.

According to him, the ultimate measure of success should not be the number of adopted documents or signed memorandums, but new money, instruments, and opportunities for businesses and citizens in the Ukrainian capital market.

Read the full interview with Oleksii Semeniuk by Business Censor here.