China's Bohai Commodity Exchange Co., Ltd. (BOCE) purchased the Ukrainian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (UBRD), local authorities said Wednesday.
The Tianjin-based company paid 3.3 million U.S. dollars for the state-owned bank, which was auctioned off in Kiev under Ukraine's privatization program, the State Property Fund (SPF) of Ukraine said in a statement.
To resume the bank's operation that was suspended for lack of funds, the Chinese company should invest at least 100,000 dollars in the financial institution, the statement said.
SPF head Igor Bilous said he wished the new owner will make the UBRD a bridge connecting the businesses of China and Ukraine.
Bilous also invited more Chinese investors to join Ukraine's privatization program, under which the East European country planned to sell more than 300 state-owned enterprises.
The Ukrainian government launched its major privatization program in recent years to fill the cash-strapped budget and enhance the efficiency of state enterprises, nearly half of which have halted their businesses in short of investment.
Established in 2009, the BOCE links private Chinese investors and several state-owned companies and handles about 1 trillion dollars in trade annually.
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