Australian businessman and head of the investment company Tattarang and Fortescue Metals Andrew Forrest will invest $500 million in the Ukraine Development Fund (UDF), which was set up jointly with the BlackRock investment company, the Ukrainian media reported, citing the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy.
Forrest will be a strategic advisor for establishing the UDF and his investment groups for green strategic metals, green iron, green hydrogen, and green electricity, and will collectively act as an advisory team for the Ukrainian government, the Ministry of Economy said in a statement on its website.
For his part, Forrest, addressing a conference in London, urged other global investors to see excellent long-term investment opportunities in Ukraine.
Forrest conceived and promoted the idea of UDF, which was inspired by the World War II Marshall Plan, and back in March 2022, he asked BlackRock CEO Larry Fink for advisory support in setting up an investment vehicle.
His plans to be an anchor investor and invest $500 million in a green energy development fund were first made public in November 2022.
In May 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy announced the BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory's (FMA) appointment to advise on the design of the Ukraine Development Fund.
"We must not aim to build back what Ukraine was, with its antique soviet era infrastructure. We will build a future that is digital, green, fair and corruption free," Forrest said at the conference.
The Forrests' philanthropic organisation Minderoo Foundation has already contributed millions of dollars to help the Ukrainian people, including funding the first humanitarian grain shipment out of Ukraine in August, and providing vital grain storage facilities for farmers whose crops would have otherwise perished, the statement said. In addition, 180 power generators were provided to assist with energy supply.
