Original interview in Ukrainian by Serhiy Leshchenko, UP
Translated by Eugene Ivantsov
Read the first part of the interview here.
– Do you have a new big project?
– I want to open a big museum of contemporary art in Kyiv. I have already found the place for it. My art center is just a rehearsal.
– Does Pinchuk have anything to do with the ‘new economy’?
– Yes. I invest in high-tech.
– What kind of investments?
– I do not wish to speak of it in detail. It is confidential. I will say they are software and internet projects.
– Are you talking about local projects or perhaps some in the billion dollars projects?
– If such projects are successful they can cost billions.
– Are these projects in Ukraine?
– I do them in different countries, including Ukraine.
– Your bank and pipe industry are your biggest operations now…
– Well, I think the media assets are as big as the bank.
– What ratio between the heavy industry and the ‘new economy’ would you like to have in your operations? For example, Akhmetov intends to decrease the proportion of the ‘old economy’ in his assets to 50% by 2010-2015.
– I think that the ratio of my industrial business will considerably decrease. Most likely, it will be the lesser part of my assets.
– Do you plan to privatize any state property?
– It is possible, but I have not yet made such decisions.
– How did you reconcile with Ihor Kolomoisky at Nikopol ferro-alloy plant?
– I can only say that we run this company together. No more comments.
– According to Kommersant, 9% of the Nikopol ferro-alloy plant shares were transferred to the Russian business group of Babakov-Voyevodin.
– I do not want to comment on such statements.
– What is the future of your pipe business? Will you join the metallurgic company of Russian businessman Dmitriy Pumpyansky or will you operate in the stock exchange?
– I will tell you this: we are confidently moving towards an initial public offering IPO, conducting negotiations with some major players in the market regarding strategic alliances at the same time. Indeed, we negotiate with Mr. Pumpyansky.
I mean when one moves towards IPO it is possible that one finds a strategic partner along the way.
– Aren’t you afraid to be the smallest in this alliance because Mr. Pumpyansky's business is much bigger?
– I have no problem with it. It is ok with me even if I am the minor shareholder in the alliance as long as capitalization of my assets is increased. In other words, pragmatism is more important here than ambitions.
This is my strategy of moving from an industrial group to the investment fund and a portfolio company.
I intend to be a strategic investor, either major or minor shareholder or a portfolio investor. One could even be a minor shareholder in a big company.
I am rather interested in the balance of my portfolio and its effectiveness. I do not want to say: “I am the boss here!” Frankly speaking, I have never dreamed of becoming the pipe king!
– At what stage of negotiations are you with Mr. Pumpyansky?
– The press publishes much rubbish that we are negotiating with him and that my conditions are 50/50. Firstly, we are not negotiating with him but conduct consultations like with other potential business partners. I have never set the condition of 50/50 because I understand that they are bigger than my company in the pipe industry. We have never negotiated such conditions.
– Are you satisfied with the sale of Ukrsotsbank? Some reports claim that $2 billion is a discounted price.
– Yes, I am satisfied! The price is very good given the current state of market. Moreover, besides $2 billion we will be paid the bank’s profit for the year 2007.
Is it possible that the bank’s price will grow? Indeed, it is possible that in one year Ukrsotsbank will be valued at $3 billion. But we can use this time to make effective investments that will profit us even more than the bank’s appreciation. And we have such a strategy.
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| Pinchuk and Director of Ukrsotsbank Borys Tymonkin. Photo by the President’s press service |
– After you sold Ukrsotsbank you still kept Kredit-Dnepr. What are you going to do? Does it mean that you are leaving the banking business?
– Absolutely! I have repeatedly stated that the banking business is not strategic for me in the long term.
– Recently, materials of court hearings in London regarding the Hryhoryshyn-Kolomoisky case have been made public. It was said that you got Mr. Hryhoryshyn out of the detention facility having demanded shares of Dneprospetsstal at a reduced price in exchange.
– That is rubbish! I do not want to comment it. If you want to know the truth then ask Mr. Hryhoryshyn himself.
– Do you have a dream of becoming the number one richest Ukrainian as compiled by Focus or Korrespondent magazines?
– I have a philosophical attitude toward it…It is the matter of priorities in life. To tell you the truth I have been and I am now as interested in earning money as in spending it. I think that it is important to spend money efficiently.
– You mean spending money on people or projects?
– I do not mean business initiatives but social projects in Ukraine. It is very important and very interesting.
– For several years the country has watched you meet VIPs in politics and showbiz. Is there a particular person you want to come in contact with?
– Yes, sometimes I set such goals for myself. But these are my private matters. Why talk about them?
– What is the last project you implemented?
– It is Elton John’s show on Maidan. We have been dreaming of this project for several years together with my wife. It is not just a show but a big project. We made friends with Elton John. I met many outstanding artists thanks to Elton.
Then there was a show on Maidan which gathered about 200 thousand people. Everybody was happy there irrespective of political preferences. There was that unique spirit. People openly confessed to the whole country: “I have AIDS and I live with it. And I advise you to use condoms.”
– That sounds naïve…
– I would not say so. On the next day after the show my friends called me saying: “Our children came to us and said: “We want to undergo AIDS testing.”
My wife’s fund received so many calls from the AIDS testing centers. They said: “Our centers are filled with people after your show.” I do not know how many people were there. And I do not know how many lives will be saved…
I was told that the Cabinet of Ministers held a serious discussion regarding AIDS at a session. Not every country can afford to have such a discussion on a main square.
One of the most famous members of the sexual minority sat beside the president’s family. By the way, he is a very outstanding personality. Is it normal? I think it is abnormal in many countries. It is cool! A democratic country shows itself to the world.
They say than not only BBC and Euronews but also CNN International broadcasted the Maidan show.
– So, you like to break the agenda?
– That is so positive! The world has only seen seizures of the Prosecutor General’s Office, fights between different security agencies, multicolored rallies…The world has been observing all this and thinking only of Ukraine’s political crisis.
Suddenly, the news reports changed. Thousands of people came to Elton John’s show. He is one of the most famous musicians in the world. What are they talking about there? Ah, about AIDS!
“Heck! Ukraine is a healthy society that is worried over the same problems we have. Why did they deceive us? It is a normal country!” Europeans will think.
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| 2007 After three years of enmity Pinchuk and Yushchenko have finally reconciled. Photo from the YES conference in Yalta, June 2007 |
– What next?
– We will figure something out…
– It is interesting to look into the future.
– It is interesting for me as well.
– But you already know!
– I do not know everything. It is so cool to plan something and then to implement it saying: “We planned it a year ago.”
– What is the next project then?
– For example in September we will open an exhibition of the most famous artists in the world Damien Hirst and Jef Koons, plus the best artworks by Ukrainian artists.
– What about social and political projects?
– We will carry out a youth YES conference in Kyiv. Representatives of 27 EU countries will come to Kyiv. These are heads of youth organizations, at least three representatives from each country: left- and right wing politicians and centrists. President of the European Commission Mr. Barroso and Portugal PM who now presides in the EU now have confirmed their participation in the conference.
We must support the new generation to lobby Ukraine’s EU prospects.
– So, you collect contacts for future plans?
– These are not my private contacts! You are welcome to use them…
– Are there any unattainable goals for you?
– Although I am not sure if this sounds ok I will tell you this: nothing is impossible!
– Do you mean that even Mr. Clinton’s participation was not impossible? By the way, some politicians in the US consider your relations with Mr. Clinton as an attempt of receiving certain concessions after his wife’s victory at the presidential election…
– It was very difficult and at the same time important to engage one of the world leaders into the anti AIDS program. Since 2003 my wife’s fund has accomplished so much. We understood that it was very important to relate to the world’s experience in our anti-AIDS projects.
It was important for us to collaborate with Mr. Clinton’s Fund because it gave the country access to cheap medicine. We first met to discuss this matter in January 2004. It was on the following day that his fund concluded an agreement with major pharmaceutical companies producing medicine for HIV.
Under this agreement, Mr. Clinton’s program covered Africa and Caribbean countries. After this meeting we set the goal of Ukraine’s inclusion to this list.
In September 2004, we signed a memorandum with Clinton’s Fund. Who thought about the next presidential election then?
– Why not? Hillary Clinton was a strong candidate then…
– Firstly, the democrats nominated John Kerry. And secondly, do you think that somebody tells Mr. Clinton what to do and where to go?
President Clinton came to Ukraine because he is really worried over the AIDS situation in our country. His fund is working worldwide in those countries where the AIDS epidemic is really serious.
Unfortunately, Ukraine is the European leader in the spread of AIDS. That is why Mr. Clinton’s Fund is constructively collaborating with my wife. We allocated $2.5 million for various AIDS programs.
I do not want to sound snobbish but Mr. Clinton really supports Ukraine’s aspiration for democracy, market reforms and European integration.
He planned to make a speech at the Ukrainian lunch in Davos. However, he failed to come and sent a video recording of his speech. His public performance in Yalta is the result of several years of a hard work aimed at European integration and fighting AIDS.
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| Pinchuk also contributes to Mr. Clinton’s library. Photo by Pinchuk’s Fund |
– What are they talking about? Of course not! It is rubbish! Mr. Clinton’s Fund is a 100% transparent organization and one of the biggest charity organizations on Earth. It is an honor for me and my wife to associate with it.
Besides, election budgets are transparent for the public and mass media in the US, so there could not possibly be even a single foreign cent there. It is simply forbidden!
Finally, such a rich country as the US can find enough money for election campaigns without Ukraine’s assistance.
– Can you predict what Mr. Clinton will do for Ukraine in the event his wife becomes the US president?
– Hillary Clinton has repeatedly stated that she will ask her husband to become the US Ambassador of Good Will in the world in the event she is elected the US president. It is so good that President Clinton supports Ukraine’s democratic development and Eurointegration!
– Do you still claim that neither you nor your immediate family want to go into politics?
– Yes. That is right! It is absolutely impossible. Neither my wife nor Leonid Kuchma will do it. My projects are apolitical.
– But you call for a new generation to go into politics. Where is it?
– A new generation comes every day. For instance, Oleh Rybachuk became a grandfather.
– Will you invite Mr. Yushchenko to the YES conference when he resigns?
– Well, you have seen Leonid Kuchma there, haven’t you?
– Can you imagine: Ex-President Yushchenko and Yalta-2020, and quite possibly Ukraine joining EU?
– Sounds great! But 2019 is even better!
