Chinese people became leaders among foreigners opening businesses in Ukraine for the first time

In the first seven months of 2026, 709 new companies with foreign owners were registered in Ukraine. This is 6% more than in the same period last year, and Chinese citizens became leaders in the number of newly created businesses for the first time.

This is evidenced by data from the Unified State Register, analyzed by Opendatabot.

In January-July 2025, 672 new companies with foreign beneficiaries were registered in Ukraine. Compared to the same period in 2024, their number increased by 24% - from 574 to 709 companies.

The activity of Chinese citizens grew most noticeably over the year. In seven months, they opened 114 companies in Ukraine, accounting for 16% of the total number of new businesses with foreign owners. A year ago, there were only 41 such companies, meaning the indicator increased almost threefold.

Thanks to this, Chinese citizens for the first time surpassed Turkish citizens in the number of new companies. Turks registered 98 enterprises during this period, or 14% of the total. At the same time, their number decreased by 6% over the year.

In third place were US citizens - they opened 62 companies. Next come Germany with 44 new businesses and Azerbaijan with 35.

Overall, citizens of 65 countries are represented among owners of new companies. 13 enterprises have beneficiaries from several countries, and in five, stateless persons are indicated as owners.

The main center for foreign business remains Kyiv. In the capital, 360 companies were registered - slightly more than half of the total. In second place is Odesa region with 110 companies, or 16%, and in third is Lviv region with 78 companies, or 11%.

Another 22 new companies with foreign owners were registered in Kyiv region and 20 in Khmelnytskyi region.

The most popular sector for foreigners was wholesale trade. 167 new companies are engaged in it, or almost one in four. 57 companies chose real estate operations, 54 - construction, 45 - IT. Another 40 new enterprises are engaged in head office activities.

The largest declared authorized capital among new companies belongs to Kyiv "Ahrotech Investytsiya" - 400.04 million UAH. Its beneficiary is an Italian citizen, and the main activity is provision of financial services.

In second place is "Esko-gazservis" with an authorized capital of 250 million UAH. The company is engaged in natural gas extraction, and its owner is a Cypriot citizen. Third place is taken by "Prodzhensi Ukraina" with an authorized capital of 76.14 million UAH and a beneficiary from Germany.

Based on materials: Opendatabot