Ukraine's National Securities and Stock Market Commission chair identifies limited investment choice as main capital market constraint

At Forbes Ukraine's Private Investments event, Oleksii Semeniuk, chair of Ukraine's National Securities and Stock Market Commission, argued that the capital market lacks securities capable of competing with domestic government bonds, rather than sufficient infrastructure. His assessment reiterates the Commission's previously outlined work to simplify securities issuance and develop tax incentives for long term investment. He expects regulatory changes made in 2026 to produce practical market results in 2027. Semeniuk reiterated support for a proposed exchange infrastructure holding, conditional on protecting national interests. The holding would bring together a professional foreign partner, the Settlement Center and the National Depository of Ukraine to introduce modern software and support trading and foreign investment. He linked attracting foreign capital to investors' ability to repatriate profits. Broader access to global companies' shares could help retail investors diversify, but the key decisions remain outside the Commission's remit. On virtual assets, Semeniuk argued that a legal framework would enable businesses to tokenize assets, including securities, and trade them on platforms using distributed ledger technology. It could also allow capital currently outside the regulated system to enter the capital market legally. Citing international analysts, he estimated that about one in six Ukrainians uses virtual assets. These opportunities remain dependent on legislation. The Commission previously reported that the virtual asset bill was being prepared for a second reading, with implementing rules and a transition period still needed after adoption.