On 11 August, the meeting “ARMA: Reform Opens Opportunities” took place, bringing together representatives of the government, business, the investment community and professional associations.

The event was the first in a series of ARMA’s strategic discussions on the development of the asset tracing, recovery and management system. The Agency deliberately began the first discussion with business.

ARMA is no longer only about state procedures. It is about the economy and preserving the value of a large portfolio of assets.

Today, the Agency has information on more than 102,000 inventoried and digitized assets with an estimated value of around UAH 200 billion. It is estimated that around 60,000 assets could potentially be subject to management, while around 20,000 are investment-attractive, effectively representing an offering for business.

Each asset has its own legal status, technical condition, economics and place in the respective market. Therefore, ARMA’s task is not to mechanically transfer assets, but to manage them as a portfolio: segment them, prepare them for transfer, select the optimal model and preserve their economic value.

Clear Separation of Roles

The new model is based on a simple principle: the state should not manage businesses instead of business.

ARMA builds and manages the portfolio. Business creates value. Competitive infrastructure ensures access. The law determines the ultimate fate of the asset.

ARMA must properly prepare the asset, provide the market with the necessary information, establish the rules, conduct a competitive selection process, monitor contract performance and protect the public interest.

A professional asset manager should do what he does best: manage, invest, improve efficiency and create value.

At the same time, ARMA’s portfolio is dynamic. An asset does not remain under state management forever.

Once legal procedures are completed, it may be transferred to the state and sold in accordance with the law. Or the legal grounds for the seizure may cease to exist — in which case the asset is recovered to its lawful owner. This is also a normal outcome in a state governed by the rule of law.

In both cases, ARMA’s task is to keep the asset operational.

That is why the quality of management today determines the value of the asset tomorrow.

Business Is Part of the System

Deputy Minister of Economy and Environment of Ukraine Vitalii Petruk emphasized that assets must be preserved or put to work — creating added value, jobs and budget revenues.

Business Ombudsman Anka Feldhusen, who chairs the Commission for Selecting Managers of Complex Assets at ARMA, emphasized the importance of clear rules for potential asset managers and the need for successful practical cases.

President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hennadii Chyzhykov confirmed the Chamber’s readiness to help ARMA establish an ongoing dialogue with business.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of JSC “Prozorro.Sale” Illia Mykhailov highlighted the importance of an open information about assets: businesses should be able to assess an asset and its risks in advance and prepare a competitive proposal.

Executive Director of UkraineInvest Marina Khlystun reported readiness to facilitate the engagement of potential asset managers and investors both in Ukraine and abroad.

Representatives of JSC “Ukrnafta” Roman Nahorniak and NPC “Ukrenergo” Maksym Yurkov shared their practical experience, achievements and challenges in managing large assets.

This experience is important for ARMA: large-scale operational businesses require not formal management, but the ability to make real decisions every day and take responsibility for their outcomes.

IDS Ukraine: Management Must Be Real

The first major test of the new model will be IDS Ukraine, which includes the “Morshynska” and “Myrhorodska” brands.

This is not simply an asset in a register. It is a large operating business — production, personnel, logistics, distribution, contracts and well-known brands.

Therefore, for ARMA, the competition for IDS is primarily a matter of setting a new management standard.

“If the manager is responsible for financial performance, preserving the asset, and implementing the business plan, they must have the tools provided by law and the contract to deliver that result”, Acting Head of ARMA Yaroslava Maksymenko emphasized.

Russian Influence Must Go. Ukrainian Economic Value Must Remain

This work is particularly important during wartime. Today, our military is defending the country on the front line. The state’s task on the economic home front is to ensure that assets that may previously have served Russian capital work for the Ukrainian economy and strengthen those defending Ukraine.

Some of the assets in ARMA’s portfolio are linked to Russian capital and sanctioned persons.

The state’s task is to eliminate Russian economic influence from Ukraine without destroying the enterprises, jobs and economic value along with it.

If an enterprise is operating, it should continue production, pay salaries and taxes. But the value it creates must now work not in the interests of the aggressor state, but for Ukraine.

ARMA already has examples where the results of managing seized assets directly strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities, with funds allocated to defense needs last month.

The state cannot appoint a manager, sign a contract and at the same time leave a parallel decision-making center within the enterprise.

If management decisions are necessary to preserve the asset and ensure its normal operation, ARMA must make them within the scope of its powers. This includes decisions regarding management, where there are legal grounds to do so.

The state ensures the rules and the reality of management. The manager is responsible for the result.

IDS Ukraine should become one of the first major examples demonstrating that the state is capable not only of conducting a competitive selection process, but also of ensuring the actual transfer of an asset to a professional manager.

ARMA manages the portfolio. Business creates value. And the asset remains part of the Ukrainian economy.